Just one drawing
by Renegade2083
Summary: Drawing for a living, the only thing that matters is a pen between her fingers, the promise of love seeming useless to her. But what if all it took was one single look? What if one drawing of her was the beginning of something new? [Lightning Fang] A very short story here. But it comes from one of my deepest desires. Sorry for any mistakes. Rated M for the language.
1. Only a smile

She had spotted her a few minute ago. At first, she had only seen her back and had noticed the woman she only assumed to be young was wearing a leather jacket and a pair of skinny jeans accentuating the length of her legs, the white pair of sneakers on her feet adding a rather Rock and Roll like-style to her ensemble. She had glanced up from her laptop and back to her, waiting for her to finally turn around and see if her thoughts were correct; was this woman as beautiful as she seemed to be?

Looking at the screen of her laptop again which had now turned black, she lifted her gaze back up once more as a soft, singing laughter echoed through Starbuck's Coffee, a mass of pink-colored hair shaking on the woman's left shoulder as her head jerked up. She gazed longer in her direction, noticing the to-go cup in her hand as she moved to the side, the other woman she only assumed to be her friend now leaning forward to place her own order. But still, the woman had not glanced in her direction. _C'mon._

A bejeweled hand ran through her pink hair and as she pushed them all back, the woman turned around in the search of something but bore her blue-colored eyes directly into hers. She smiled, lips curling up an inch upwards and illuminating her entire visage, brows thinly-shaped quirking up just a tad as she was unable to look at anything else but the beautiful creature holding her coffee as if her life had been depending on its survival. The eye-contact seemed to last an eternity when it only lasted a few seconds, so when pink-headed girl, or _pinkie_ as she would now decide to refer to her, turned back around, it took Fang Yun everything she had to recall how her lungs were supposed to function, the breath she had held slowly being breathed out through her nose.

Shifting her attention back to her computer, she grazed the mousepad with her fingertips and glanced at the art she had created. After having seen what Pinkie looked like, her portrait of an imaginary character for the new idea of a comic book seemed tame and devoid of any beauty. And even her original idea now seemed boring…No one cared about a blonde-haired tougher than nails and straighter than an arrow woman controlling a multi-millionaire company somehow falling in love with a dark-haired PA — or personal assistant —because of her incredible charm. Her story was a lost cause, and she needed now more than ever to come up with a brand-new idea.

Dropping the stylus from her graphics tablet on the table, Fang ran a hand through her wild hair, picked up her coffee cup and swallowed a mouthful of the lukewarm beverage, carefully placing it back on the table before shooting a glance back in Pinkie's direction. However, as she saw nothing but an empty space, Fang's brow furrowed with disappointment. Never would she see Pinkie again. An exaggerated sigh escaped her mouth, but as the same laughter she had previously heard and locked inside her mind echoed once more, Fang became an eagle ready and wanting to look for its prey.

On her right side were a group of three man all dressed in suits, the word _bank_ screaming from their outfit and haughty behavior. A little further away, next to the door sat a single girl, smiling at her phone and listening to music, based on the jerky movement of her head and the mouthing of lyrics. Frowning, Fang finally glanced to her left and nearly choked on her own saliva as she spotted Pinkie, her leather jacket now hanging on her chair and giving sigh to the pink-colored tank-top nearly glued to her skin, like her eyes were on her.

For a few moments, Fang did not realize how strange she looked like. Bug-eyed, she stared at the woman with amazement, unable to look at anything else but the shape of her strong jaw. However, as Pinkie darted in her direction with a frown, Fang flinched, reddened a few shades thankfully hidden by her tan and snatched the stylus back from the table, doodling on her tablet like a child or a dog being caught red-handed after a mistake. _Idiot_. Fighting hard for her cheeks to return to their normal color and hating herself for doing the exact opposite, Fang quit her _Art Studio_ page without saving her work and immediately popped a new one open.

Only a few feet away from the girl, she immediately began to draw her and her friend, sketching as quickly as possible without being caught in the act once more. Shapes and shadows meddled and created the scene, the colors of pink, green, beige and black filled the drawing within minutes, perfectly representing the atmosphere of the Coffee Place…and the purity of her new muse.

" _I'm not sure. I think Serah wants to go to Disney-Land with her boyfriend on the week-end."_ Fang glanced up from the screen, watching as thin lips delicately moved. _"I'm not going of course. I don't want to be the third-wheel."_

" _You want me to come with you?"_

A chuckled escape her lips as they curled upwards, her eyes shining brighter than the sun itself. _"I'd rather just go with you. We should do that. Invite the guys from the office and just bail for the week-end."_

" _What would we say to Hammer?"_

" _Bye!"_

The two girls heartily laughed, Fang's attention being drawn back to her laptop. She had already been spotted once, there was no need to act like a stalker. Staring at her screen, the stylus grazed the tablet again and with a smile, added a dialogue atop of pink-headed girl's character sitting crossed legged at the table, a mug in her hand covered with rings saying _let's go to Disney-Land this weekend_ and another further down the page, under the friend's character, _let's do it!_

Fang smiled, finding her art-work better than what she had done during the morning and did not hesitate to download it in a JPEG mode, immediately going on her DeviantArt profile and added the drawing to a file self-righteously called _People of the world_. Waiting a few more moments for it to download, Starbucks's Wi-Fi not helping to accelerate the process, Fang glanced back at her. Surprise hit her when Pinkie had been smiling in her direction for God knew how long, but awkwardly enough, Fang smiled back.

The chiming of her laptop drew her attention back to her screen, the picture she had entitled _let's meet for coffee_ now visible to everyone following her, therefore more than one-hundred thousand and twenty-five people. Sighing, she picked up her coffee once more and gulped it in only two mouthfuls. Glancing at the digital clock, she pressed her laptop back closed, shoved it in a case and stuffed in down her bag, the graphic tablet quickly following. Picking it up from the ground, she brought her wallet out of her back pocket and tossed a few coins on the table before making her way out of the establishment.

However, she casted one last glance over her shoulder and gazed at Pinkie's nape with a smile. _See you never_ , she thought to herself. And soon enough, Fang was sauntering down the street with a cigarette between her lips and a smile shining from her eyes, ready to go on with her day.

* * *

A small smile curled up her lips. Lying in bed with her iPad on her pillow, she scrolled down Pinterest in the hopes of finding some new artistic material she might've missed during the day. But after thirty minutes, her search came moot. Sighing, she ran her hand through her straight hair and pressed on DeviantArt as she chewed on her lower-lip, a last chance to amaze herself with some people's creations.

She had never been artist, or at least she had never really tried. Perhaps had it been due to a lack of artistic thoroughness or a lack of patience but marveling herself in front of what others managed to do with simply a pen and a laptop amazed her. Her passion for art had started six months ago when her best-friend, Jessica, pointed out to her the website she had never heard of from Adam or Eve, too busy working for Facebook in the management department to gaze at the wonders of the Universe. But the minute she had decided to visit the web-page, her interest had spiked like lava erupting from a flaming volcano and had since then not spend a day without visiting websites, commenting or adding to her wish-list. _Art was in the eye of the beholder_ , and these people had it all figured out.

With her finger grazing the screen, she slowly scrolled down the page, pressing on a few designs and smiling at their meaning, leaving a comment expressing her amazement and going back to the main page immediately after in the search of anything new. But after forty-five minutes doing nothing but that, she decided it was finally time to get up from her bed and prepare herself something to eat.

Jumping from the mattress, she grabbed a scrunchie from her desk and attached her pink-colored hair in the form of a bun on the top of her head as she walked in direction of the kitchen, Jessica throwing her a smile and a quick wink. Right. She had forgotten that the only pieces of clothing she had worn had been her panties and bra. Pulling her tongue out, she rounded the island and opened up the fridge.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Pizza?"

"No," Lightning said with a smile, "we said no more pizza."

"You said, I didn't agree to this new law," Jessica taunted as she bounced to her feet. "But I don't know, what do we have?"

She gazed at the content of the fridge with knitted brows. Though consequently huge, it seemed that except for a few bottles of beer, wine and some vegetables, neither of them had remembered to go out and shop. Scratching her forehead, she gazed over her shoulder and gave Jessica a shrug.

"Pizza it is."

"Great, can you order? I'm almost done working."

Nodding, Lightning Farron went back to her bedroom and picked up her phone she had left on the bed, dialing the Pizzeria's number she sadly knew by heart and placed their orders that had never changed in the two years they had lived together. One medium Queen, and one Vegetarian. Tossing the phone back on her bed, Lightning bent down to pick up her sleeping shorts from the ground, as well as her tank-top from Yale University and covered up her body just a tad. Sauntering out of the bedroom, she picked up her laptop from the dining-table and crashed inside an arm-chair, giving Jessica the entire sofa, she had already invaded with papers.

Bringing her feet under her bottom, Lightning opened up the thin pink-colored laptop and inputted her password with only her left hand, the other too busy running through wet hair and straightening them between her fingers. Quickly, she pressed on the browser and brought her two hands over her keyboard, typing the word _Disney-Land_ with a grin. Jessica, Isabel and Marcus had all agreed to the week-end excursion, Lightning having been made in charge to book the tickets, not needing to stay in a hotel as each and every one of them lived in the near vicinity of the resort located in Anaheim, Los Angeles.

Adding four two-day tickets to her cart, Lightning grunted as she placed the laptop on the chair, getting up _again_ and going back to her bedroom for the umpteenth time to snatch her purse from the ground. Pulling out her wallet, she eyed her phone for a few moments. She picked it up, not in the mood to get up again within the following ten minutes only because someone would suddenly decide to call her.

Retrieving her laptop, she sat back down on the chair and inputted the numbers of her card and pressed _pay_ with a pleased smile as the transaction was finished.

"Disney is booked."

"Awesome," Jessica said without glancing up from her papers, "will do us some good to take a break I'm telling you that."

She arched a brow. "We went to Las Vegas a month ago Jess."

"Technicalities."

Shaking her head ever-so-slightly, Lightning quit the tab and opened up several new ones, three being used to check out art and the other to land on her Instagram page. Going on the last one, she quickly scrolled through the page, fighting the urge to laugh at some of the most pathetic pictures people felt the _need_ to download on the app, showing off their awesome lunches and perfectly shaped body usually followed by dumb quotes, making their narcissism less profound with words of wisdom. A shrewd technique but one that did not work on her.

Closing the tab, she clicked on DeviantArt for the second time today in the hopes something new had been added, her brows snapping up at the sight of a private messages dropped into her box. She clicked on the logo, unsurprised to read her sister's name. She clicked again and frowned at the message urging her to open up the link pasted.

Hesitating for a few moments, Lightning's curiosity finally got the better of her and with a soft sigh, opened up the link. However, the sound of the bell chiming throughout their apartment had the effect to make her flinch and bounce off the armchair, the laptop back on the seat. Sauntering towards the door, she looked through the peep-hole and turned they keys in the lock, putting on her brightest smile as she received the two already-paid pizzas in her arms. Politely thanking the delivery man, Lightning closed the door with the help of her foot and walked back inside the living-room, dropping the two boxes on the table and taking a seat on the floor.

"There you go," she said pushing the top box she knew would not contain her pizza, "one veggie for you."

"Thanks babe."

"You're welcome," Lightning said, picking up one slice of mushroom-ham-mozzarella pizza, her mouth already watering as the scent invaded both her nostrils. Taking a big bite, she chewed and swallowed, eyeing her best-friend driving herself more than insane. "Take a break woman, it's going to be cold."

"I know, I know but I _need_ to finish this before tomorrow. It's driving me crazy."

"What do you have to do," Lightning asked after another tasty bite.

"Ugh, someone forked up the total income of last month so guess who's stuck recalculating everything again."

"Did you just say 'forked'?" A grin spread across both of their faces.

"I'm trying to curse less, so I'm following _The Good Place's_ rules."

"Nerd," Lightning said.

"Useless lesbian," Jessica quipped back.

Arching her brow, Lightning gave her friend a questioning look. Stopping mid-chew, she waited and pondered the implication of her _insult_ , Jessica only winking and grabbing her meatless piece of pizza, carrying to her lips like a block of C4 ready to explode. Rolling her eyes as she refused to give an explanation, Lightning brought another slice to her lips and silently chewed, glancing from Jessica to the papers spread on the couch.

"Why am I a useless lesbian," she eventually asked, not knowing driving her closer to insanity.

"Because," Jessica answered with a finger pointing at her chest, "the brunette this morning, you both looked at each other like teenagers and yet you didn't even make a move."

Flinching, the woman drawing on a graphics tablet popped back inside her mind, and a blush crept its way up her cheeks. Intent on hiding it, she acted as if trying to look for something behind her. But Jessica was no fool, and the giggle escaping her throat was indication enough.

"I was right," she said proud, "you found her pretty."

"Well, yes," Lightning admitted, the furnace her cheeks had turned to getting a degree higher. "She was pretty."

"Aw, you're always so cute when you're flustered."

"Fork off," Lightning said with a playful glare. "I'm not flustered."

"Tell that to your cheeks, you're redder than ever."

Groaning, she dropped the edge of the pizza in the box and snatched a pillow from the ground. Plunging her face in it, she waited for the warmth spreading across her body to lower, Jessica's amused laughter being of no help. She hated to be looked right through, especially when it came to enjoy someone's looks, or simply liking someone. Yes, when she had seen the woman with the pen looking in her direction, Lightning couldn't have helped herself but to smile, stunned by her natural beauty.

Maybe if Jessica would not have been there, perhaps would she have said something to her. Complimenting her or simply wishing her a nice day before disappearing through the front-doors of the establishment. But what would've been the point anyway? Los Angeles was a huge city, and the chances to cross paths again was thinner than a single hair.

"Uh Light?"

"What," she groaned again, her face still hidden by the pillow.

"I took your laptop to check something out but…Did you see it?"

"See what," she asked, the pillow falling between her legs.

"This."

It took Lightning a few moments to understand what Jessica showed her, but when she understood, all she could do was to stare deadpan at the drawing. There they were, Jessica and her having their Wednesday-morning coffee at Starbucks, dressed as they had been during the day. Grabbing the laptop from her, Lightning focused her undivided attention on the drawing, slightly chuckling at the two dialogue boxes before spotting the caption under it. _People of the World – One look and my soul was on fire, Pinkie_.

Her cheeks turned to flames again, but the smile spreading across her lips said it all. Looking at the artist's name, _RagnarokYun_ , Lightning instantly decided to follow her and hesitated a few moments as she stared at the comment section. Letting out a sigh filled with anxiety, she pressed on her mousepad and brought her hands atop her keyboard, writing the only sentence _May we meet again_ before closing the tabs back, pushing it away on the ground as if it had caught on fire.

"This sucks," Jessica said as she slouched on the sofa, arms crossed. "You're the only one I know who ever manages to have this sort of stuff happen to her."

"Nothing is happening," Lightning said, tilting her head to throw her friend a confused look.

"Please. This is like the beginning of a love-story you only see in movies," Jessica pestered, the jealousy in her tone putting a smile on Lightning's lips. "Stop making fun of me you tart!"

"I'm not making fun of you," Lightning assured, "but trust me, this is hardly the beginning of a love story."

With a reassuring smile, Lightning nodded once in Jessica's direction and picked up another slice of pizza. However, all she could taste was the coffee she had drank in the morning. How she wished Jessica could be right. If only this could be the beginning of a love story.


	2. Blue eyes

Looking at her laptop with knitted brows, Fang continued her drawing with undivided attention. For the past two days, all she had done was to draw, erase, change and repeat, her inspiration having been through the roof, and all of this thanks to a simple comment from a certain _BlueEyedGirl_ that had brought to her lips a raging, long-lasting smile. And from this, an idea had emerged. Why not create a comic about two people meeting in a coffee shop, the world of art bringing them together in the most unexpected way?

She had therefore started on Wednesday night with different drawings of herself and her morning ritual. The first one had only shown her own self-stretching on a rumpled bed, arms outstretched, and fingers clenched with a caption underneath narrating her every thought. The following ten to fifteen had all been a part of that ritual; the morning pee, the wash of hands, the burning coffee and a cigarette at the kitchen table, her laptop in front of her and her hair messier than ever, the look in her eyes capturing her state of tiredness, staring at a blank page, a drawing only waiting to be created.

After her morning routine, Fang had described in colors and shapes the route she had taken to the Starbucks, one she had never taken before that day. She had described her thoughts upon arriving at the coffee shop, and her confusion in front of all the different kinds of coffee the place always offered, her character usually arching up her brows and staring confused at everything she saw but amazed by the wonders of the world. This is when she had stopped on Saturday morning at exactly two am, sleepiness and exhaustion having taken the better of her. But as she had woken up at ten, the first instinct Fang had was to jump back on her laptop, ready to continue the uncanny tale of _Pink in Shades of Blue_.

She had arrived at the point where Pinkie had entered the establishment, drawing her own face looking at the woman turning her back at her, a smile curling up her lips as too many thought had bumped. Fang winced at some of the details she had missed on her visage. Her nose surely did not curl up _that_ much, and the color of her eyes was surely green, but the color she had drawn gave her the look of a mad-woman. Erasing, she tried again, adding a darker shade to properly match the emerald color of her eyes. _Still not perfect goddammit!_ Dropping the pen on the kitchen table, Fang exchanged it for her coffee cup, swallowed a large amount of the beverage and snatched the pen again, adding a few shadows on the corner of her left jaw, adding the depth that had been missing.

Arching her brow, she added texture to the wall, corrected a few last mistakes and saved the document under the title _one-slide 17_ , and opened a brand-new page with a smile. Carefully trying to remember, she doodled with thin lines the edge of the counter, the doors, walls, and tables, trying to make sense of the proper use of space before drawing Pinkie with as many details as she could remember, as task deeming more complicated than Fang would've thought. Without wanting to diminish her beauty, or at least the way _she_ had seen her, Fang focused as hard as possible and tried to be a thorough as humanly possible. The color of her hair needed to be of the right color, and the rings on her fingers needed to be the same, but being only human, a few details had disappeared from her mind.

Closing her eyes, she painfully tried to remember the tiniest of details, the ones she knew would make a difference, somehow. But the harder Fang tried, the less she actually recalled anything at all. With a grunt, she continued the sketch and was finally done with the first part of chapter one after more than thirty hours of work and seventeen slides. Running a hand through her hair, she spent the next hour and a half making sure the details were perfect, that she had not mispronounced a word or added one too many and downloaded them all in a folder.

Next came the way she would post them on DeviantArt. Many choices were offered to her. Either would she put them all individually or one after the other in a vertical line. Should she create a folder on the website and drop them all inside, making it easier for the ones wanting to check out some art to find the drawings? She grunted once more and stood up from the chair, sluggishly waking towards the coffee-maker. Picking up the pot, she poured herself her fourth coffee in the morning and sauntered back to her chair, her questions still unanswered.

Placing the coffee mug next to her laptop after a quick swallow, Fang clicked on the browser and typed in the web-address, immediately clicking on her account. Looking at the different option, she clicked again on _add new pictures_ and selected the file from her documents, watching with impatience as the seventeen slides were loaded, her wi-fi much more effective than Starbucks'. A short minute after, Fang was staring at the files all aligned by name and without any doubt in her mind, pressed once more on her mousepad, her smile widening as, one by one, the pictures were loaded and brought to the world.

Breathing out a deep sigh, Fang clicked on the first drawing and quickly edited the description. In italic, she wrote; _I've been trying to get my inspiration back for a while now. It's strange how a single person, a single event has been able to bring it out. May we meet again, yes. For now, I will be content by keeping your memory through art and make it a masterpiece. Yours Truly, RagnarokYun._

She smiled as the description was saved but ignored the pain in her cheeks. It had been too long since she had been able to smile and mean it. _And all of this because of one look._ Sighing with both relief and pleasure, Fang brought her mug to her lips, gulped the beverage whole and stood up from the chair, humming a song that had been stuck in her mind. She placed the mug in the dishwasher and sauntered out of the kitchen, the need of a shower making its way to her brain. She could use the fresh water to clear her mind before continuing to draw.

But even under warm water, thoughts and images collided, ideas filled with colors, and colors filling the gaps. The color of pink mixing with the blue, the color of black tainted with traces of white, the shape of a smile and the undying twinkle in the eye. How she wished she could see this all again, and never let it go. What a fool she had been and how she regretted now having spoken to her when she could've. But with this also came a shimmer of hope. She had a means of contacting her now. All she needed to do was to wait and see if faith had her say. And she would make sure to wait as long as she could.

* * *

"I absolutely refuse to get on that," Lightning said, staring at the high ride. "You'd have to pay me."

"I can pay you with a kiss," Jessica said as she nudged her in the ribs, "or would you prefer your Amazon to do that?"

Faking a whine, Lightning's cheeks grew a shade pinker, soon matching the color of her own hair. Glaring at her best-friend, she snatched her by the hand and waved at her two other friends flirting with one another, a flirtation that had not stopped since the group of four had crossed the giant doors of Disney Land.

Taking a deep and slow breath from her stomach, she blew it out of her mouth as she approached the cashier, glancing up at the tower of death with a worried frown. But wasn't it the time to change? To get over her fears and do things she never thought she would do? She had already one regret, one thing she had not been able to stop thinking about for the past forty-eight hours, and perhaps would she also regret not sitting on her death-chair bringing her who knew how many feet up the ground. It was time for her to be brave, and if this was the beginning, she sure as hell wasn't going to turn back around.

"Four tickets, please," she said, her tone cool and composed. Handing out a twenty-dollar bill in exchange for the tickets, Lightning handed them out to her friends. "Okay. Let's do this."

"I've never seen you so determined Light. I like that look on you," Marcus said, flashing a grin in her direction.

"Yes well…Better late than never," she said, immediately flinching as screams coming from above echoed in her ears. "Oh god."

Her face instantly paled, and her stomach started to churn. This wasn't the time to back down. She had made a decision, and she would make sure she wouldn't turn back and run away. She was done running away from things scaring her and this situation had occurred one too many times throughout her life. Turning around on her white sneakers, Lightning looked at the people coming out of their seats, and each of them wore a smile. Not matter how hard they had screamed, not one seemed to feel ill.

 _Show time_. Grabbing Jessica's hand, Lightning led them both towards the ride and sat down on the uncomfortable chair, feeling squished as the man and owner of it pressed the protection against her stomach. Reassuring, yes, but also painful.

It took exactly four minutes before the ride slowly went up, and in those four minutes, Lightning went from complete and utter terror to a state of happiness defying the laws of gravity itself. Hand in hand, she had squeezed Jessica's with a bright smile, she had looked at the people glancing in their direction with widening eyes, some of them devoid of any colors as they looked at the entirety of the ride. But no matter what, her smile had not vanished.

"You ready for this you bench?"

"Forking yes," Lightning chuckled, "let's get this bullshirt started!"

"Hell yes!"

Grinning at another, the smile that had curled her lips slightly vanished as the _elevator_ brought them higher up in the ground. Gazing down, she looked at her own feet and then at the distance separating them from the ground feet after feet. To her, it seemed like a few thousands, but she knew the ride was only 164 feet. _Enough to kill me_. She sucked in the air between her lungs, flinching as Jessica's hand pointed at the horizon.

"Check this out," she said.

Following her line of sight, Lightning observed the entire park from above. Spreading in front of the her, she could see every single ride, every castle and could even see a few people on roller-coasters. She could see the trees, the blue sky and the sun beaming atop of them, shining over the entire park and bringing everyone a smile. What a beautiful day it was.

Moments later, the ride reached the top of the tower. Breathing in, Lightning squeezed harder on Jessica's hand and was surprised as she too, squeezed back. Managing to catch a glimpse of her best-friend, she realized she had not been the only one feeling wary of the ride, Jessica's cheeks having slightly paled from her usual complexion. However, as she gazed in her direction, both of their lips curled upwards and with an encouraging nod, looked back straight ahead of themselves, a second before the brutal fall occurred.

The ride probably lasted less than five seconds tops, but unlike the four minutes of waiting, many things occurred during that time. First, Lightning felt the insane pressure of her body being crushed by her own weight, her heart sinking a few inches down her stomach, the fear of falling on the ground pressing against her temple. But shortly after, all she had been able to do was to think back of Wednesday.

She knew nothing had happened, and she knew a drawing and a sweet sentence meant nothing, but to have been noticed, to have been taken as an example and complimented had warmed her heart. For the past twenty-six years, Lightning had never been the kind to fish for compliments in the least. Actually, she had always hated showing off. Of course, she had always been aware of her looks and had often been praised for them, but being told she was _smoking hot_ or _extremely fuckable_ had never been what interested her.

She wanted to be appreciated as a person, not for her looks, but for who she was. And what the woman from Starbucks had managed to do had been just that. She had not exaggerated her features and had even added the few flaws she knew she had and had cherished her entire life. She had simply captured…her essence? Lightning wasn't quite sure. But what she knew, and what she felt when the tower finally reached the ground, was that _RagnarokYun_ was a woman she hopped to meet again.

"That was fucking awesome!"

Reality came back as Lightning smiled at Jessica, her knees wobbly as she stood up from the seat. But at least, she did not feel sick. If anything, she felt light and free.

"It was something that's for sure," Lightning replied, a cigarette already dangling between her lips. "But fork me, what a fall. I thought I was dying for a second."

Slightly being pushed to the side as Jessica nudged her in the shoulder, Lightning only replied with an amused glare. Glancing at her vicinity, they waited for Marcus and Isabel to rejoin with them, managing to not say a word as their fingers were now intertwined.

"What now people," Jessica asked, taking her position as leader of the group. Her hazel-colored eyes shimmered with mirth as she slowly started to dance in the middle of the park, not giving a care in the world about what people might think of her.

"What about Pirate of the Caribbean? They take your picture at the end."

Glancing at Jessica, Lightning nodded. "Sure, let's go. Which way is it?"

"Follow me, silly humans, I will lead the way!"

This close to face-palming herself, Lightning followed Jessica's footsteps. Bringing out her cellphone from her pocket, it took her a few moments before being able to make sense of her screen, the shining sunshine making the task slightly harder. But when she was finally able to look at her notifications, her heart immediately skipped a long, hard beat.

Unlocking the phone with the help of her thumb, Lightning covered her eyes with her free-hand, the breath she had been holding staying deep inside her lungs and refusing to be blown out until finally, the application opened. Pressing on the _new stuff_ , she waited for the images to load, the bad connection of the park making the task longer and more painful than anything else before. She hadn't got a clue what the woman had drawn but could not wait to see what she had this time managed to represent. But as her eyes settled on the title of the folder containing seventeen slides, her smile, that was already big, doubled in size.

Eagerly pressing on the first one, she immediately recognized the artist. _Every morning, the first thing I'm thinking about is the damn coffee waiting for me. I know I won't properly function until then, and I know my imagination will only be given an extra kick if caffeine floods through my veins. After all, I am only human._ Her finger grazed the artists' face and her cheeks burned. Swiping to the following slide, Lightning chuckled, oblivious of Jessica, Marcus, and Isabel all throwing a confused glance in her direction. Nothing could tear her off the drawings.

 _Usually, and when my friend has not decided to drag me out for a morning run, I drink my coffee in silence with a cigarette, looking out the window and capturing the new colors given by the sun. The grass that was yesterday dark is now clearer. Somehow, I have a feeling this day is going to be good._ She shook her head at the captions and looked at the drawing. Here, the artist is showing her back, looking out the window with the mug in hand, the burning cigarette in the other.

Swiping again, Lightning smiled, looked and analyzed the following slides, noting the different shades of color until arriving on the ones of Starbucks. During the entire time, she had wondered if this comic would be what she had thought it would. She had read the description, of course, and had reddened even more, but the close view of the artist's face made her heart stop again. _Those eyes_ , she thought bug-eyed, _is this for real_?

She stopped for a second in her tracks, staring at the drawing, at the shape of her face, but was stunned her the most was this green, powerful, dark and penetrating. She had seen those eyes in real life, but being her shy-self, Lightning had always darted away when _she_ had glanced up. Had she known, not once would she have gazed away. _I didn't know who she was, and I had never seen her before. After all, it wasn't everyday someone with pink-hair appeared before your eyes. But there was something about her I couldn't quite explain. Drawing me and wanting to know more. And when she turned around, I knew I had been right._ Her eyes sparkled with amusement and pleasure, and the shape of her smile curled up even more. She smiled so hard her jaw started to hurt.

"Hey, nerd!" Glancing up from her phone, Lightning abruptly stopped in front of the ride, Jessica already handing her one ticket with a knowing smile. "You look in love."

"Ridiculous," Lightning said back, "I'm just checking out drawings."

"May I ask from who," Jessica taunted, leading both her and Lightning towards the boat serving as the ride.

"No, you may not."

Sitting down next to Jessica and leaving the lovebirds alone, Lightning tucked her phone back into the pocket of her jeans, the need to gaze at the last drawing positively haunting her. Jessica's words rushed back through her mind, faster than liquid nitrogen. _You look in love_. It was preposterous. How could she feel anything for someone she had met only once? She closed her eyes, not wanting to answer such a question. _Because she noticed you more than anyone else before_ , her mind taunted her. She clenched her fists and breathed in, startled as the boat started to move.

Glancing up from her sneakers, Lightning gazed at the decorum with a small smile, her thoughts sometimes annoying her just a tad more, thoughts she managed to push away every time she flinched, never suspecting one of the statues to suddenly mechanically move and bringing Jessica to the verge of tears the more she shrieked. And each time, her elbow met her ribs.

"You're such a wuss Farron!"

"Shut up you dork, I'm just—," she flinched again, her hand gripping Jessica's knee. "Goddammit!"

Jessica clapped her hands together, laughing louder than a hyena. "Oh, you should see your face! Oh, I love this too much!"

"I'm choosing the next ride," Lightning said, still gazing at her vicinity. She smiled as Jessica intertwined her fingers with hers, her blue eyes immediately boring in the brown color of hers. "I love you, silly."

"Me too. This was a good idea. To come here, I mean."

"It sure was."

Looking away, Lightning listened to the sound of water suddenly getting increasingly louder, her eyes widely opening as she felt the boat almost falling on the vertical. However, she smiled and laughed along with Jessica, droplets of water splattering on her face and refreshing the heat she had felt, her eyes shining with more than just amusing…but also for the promise of something new. _Maybe._

Seconds later, the boat went back to a normal position and stopped, the group of four slowly escaping the ride. Intent on going towards Alice's labyrinth, Lightning felt her hand being snatched. Dragged towards the entrance of the ride, she quirked up her brows as Jessica pulled out her wallet, asking for something to a man flashing a toothy grin in her best friend's direction. In exchange for the bill, Jessica grabbed four pictures and handed them all to the group. Frowning, Lightning glanced down at the picture and couldn't help but to explode into laughter. Behind them, Marcus has his hand up Isabel's bra and both of their faces were simply golden.

"Oh no, this is too much," Lightning said as she pressed her hand on her stomach, "I just can't." She laughed again, Jessica quickly joining her whilst the new couple gazed mortified at the two of them.

Yes, coming here had been a fantastic decision.

* * *

They had ended with the labyrinth. In fact, Lightning had offered to end with it, so no jump scares would frighten her again, but also so she would find herself alone to check out the last drawing that had been on her mind for the next three hours. After the Pirate's ride, the group of four had decided to go and grab some food at the nearest restaurant.

Having devoured a hamburger with fries and mayonnaise, they had then decided to go on smaller rides where _walking_ was the only way to go through them. There was no need to puke back what they had eaten, after all. Of course, Jessica had found the marvelous idea to lure them towards a haunted house that _at first_ had not seemed haunted in the slightest. But the minute they had stepped into an elevator, portraits of a girl looking more than happy painted on the walls, Lightning's suspicions had emerged. And when the elevator had gone down, and the portraits had changed to gruesome, she had done everything not to throw a glare in Jessica's direction who had only replied with a beam.

Truth be told, the haunted house had not been _that_ scary, but the ambiance had unnerved the group of three, Jessica too busy pointing out the decorum taken from many horror movies she had, of course, seen. They had marched and frowned, and Lightning had shrieked and punched her best-friend's shoulder every single time she had laughed or bitten her lip _not_ to laugh. But in the end, they had all made it out safe and sound, away from this crazy-place.

"Farron, how the hell are we getting out of there?"

"Legends say that if you keep your right hand against the walls or in this case, bushes, you can always find your way out," Lightning said, her fingertips burning as she touched the phone in her pocket.

"That's bullshirt."

She chuckled. "Try it, then."

"Don't tempt me!"

Glancing over her shoulder, Lightning winked and pressed on, simply following a trail without knowing where she would end up. After all, wasn't that all the fun? To walk in a direction without knowing how anything would end? To hope and pray to find the way out? Wasn't _that_ what it was all about?

"This is the shirtiest idea ever."

"Stop complaining, I had to suffer through all your horror stuff!"

"Boohoo, poor baby," Jessica snorted back.

"I will push you into the bushes woman." Sharply turning around on the sole of her shoes, she pointed a finger in Jessica's direction, her gaze dark yet amused.

"Try me, you bitch."

Hesitating for a few moments, Lightning faked a sigh. But the moment Jessica sneered, she pressed both of her hands against the chest and pushed her as hard as possible in the bushes, bolting away as if demons had been chasing her. She ran fast, never knowing where to go, turning left and right before she knew Jessica would not be able to find her, running past a few people glancing at her with knitted brows. But she didn't care about them. All she cared about was that wretched last drawing that had been haunting her.

Lowering her paste after one minute, Lightning glanced over her shoulder and made sure Jessica wouldn't suddenly appear before grabbing her phone from her front-pocket. Catching her breath, she pressed her thumb several times against the home button of her phone, her brows furrowing as three attempts unlocked the password, quickly typing on the four digits.

Breathing in, she pressed on the only app mattering to her and immediately landed on the drawing of the artist, the green color of her eyes still sending electricity down her arms. With a smile, she swiped to the left and stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at the final piece of work.

She didn't move a muscle as she stared at it. This was _her_. Standing next to Jessica with her mug in her hand. Her hand covered with different rings. It was her leather jacket, her sneakers, her jeans and her hair color. Lightning wildly smiled. Zooming in the drawing, she first observed the rings, chuckling as one had missed the artist's eye, but how could she judge really? The fact she had been able to remember so much details was impressive. No, it was mind-blowing.

Running a hand through her hair, Lightning gazed longer at every detail. It was only then that she saw the caption at the bottom of the page, under the steaming cup of the artist's own coffee. _I could tell. I could tell that the minute she would turn around, I would lose my mind. It wasn't the pink-hair, the style, the thinness. I just_ _ **knew**_ _that the second she would turn around; my heart would stop beating. And all I wanted, was for her to look at me._

Her heart stopped beating as she read the words. Had she really meant it? Had she thought she would be mesmerized by her? Lightning fought the blush from creeping up her cheeks again, nibbling on her lip as yet another smile spread across her face, the corner of her eyes crinkling in lines of happiness. She grazed the phone again and pressed on the comment section. She thought for a few moments, ignoring the people walking past her and grunting as she remained like a statue in the middle of the way. But this required an intense level of thought. Soon enough, her thumbs pressed on the screen. Yes, this was it.

* * *

For the umpteenth time, Fang went from her drawing to the internet page, the chime of a new notification echoing in her kitchen. Pressing on the tab, she bit her lower lip harder than ever, her heart beating ten-times faster than before as she read _BlueEyedGirl commented on your picture_. She sighed, ran a hand through her hair and clicked. _What am I, twelve?_

Her thoughts were quickly casted away. Landing on the comment, Fang swallowed hard. _Wednesday's routines never fail, do they? I like the color green. And especially in your eyes. I'm stunned. You have a style like no other. Always in the hopes of meeting you again, stranger from a coffee-shop. L._

L? Laura? Lucille? Lara? Her mind overloaded, but her smile was bright. _Wednesday's routine_ , she thought to herself with a grin. Was she giving her a clue? Suddenly, Fang severely flinched. Snatching her phone form her pocket, she immediately went on her map, hopping her every footstep would have been saved. How could have she forgotten about the address?

 _Because you got there by mistake_. She frowned and closed her eyes. Where had she turned? Where had she been? Had she meant to go towards Santa Monica, or had she been listening to music, making her turn before? Fang sighed and opened up one eye. _Fuck_. She could not remember, and her phone had been of no help because… _You forgot it the morning. Oh, you stupid, fucking idiot!_

Elbowing against the table, Fang covered her face with her palms. Breathing in and out, she slowly lifted her gaze up from her hands, staring right back at Pinkie's message. Quickly, a smile tickled the corner of her lips. No. This was _far_ from over. This was merely the beginning.

Quitting the tab, Fang snatched her stylus back and focused on her drawing once more. It was show-time. And what a fucking show she wanted it to be.


	3. Grand Opening

Lightning gazed at the inside of her office with knitted brows. Something was missing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She glanced at the desk. Serah's picture was there, her younger sister beaming whilst standing on the beach with her boyfriend Snow. The picture of her deceased parents was also there, the two of them gazing at a paper with undivided attention and bringing a smile to her lips. She gazed back up. No, something was definitely missing.

Standing up from her seat, she touched the surface of her desk, fingers grazing the glass as she walked closer to the walls. She tilted her head to the side, observing nothing but whiteness driving her insane. Why hadn't she thought of it before? And why did it only occurred to her that the lack of color had been so depressing? She tilted her head to the side, fingers scratching her chin.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She didn't flinch, still staring at her empty walls. "I need to buy some furniture," she said. "It feels…lifeless."

"Okay. Sure this hasn't anything to do with your new friend?"

Arching up her brows, Lightning glanced in direction of the door, Jessica's head peeking from under the frame. "No. I don't think so." She breathed in, fighting the blush once more. "No."

"You sure? Because…I saw the comic." Jessica grinned. "And your comment."

"Go away," Lightning groaned. Going back to her chair, she threw herself in it and let out a long and heavy sigh.

"Tonight, you and me," Jessica said pointing at both of them, "we're going out."

"On a Monday? I'm not twenty anymore."

"Ugh! You're twenty-six, you'll survive!"

Running a hand through her hair, Lightning gave Jessica a sharp look. Yes, she was twenty-six and had worked non-stop ever since she had gotten her degree. Going out wasn't part of who she was anymore. She did not care about meaningless sex and getting drunk just because she was _young_. She had a steady job now, a life she needed to take care of…Going out was not something she held close to her heart.

Glancing up from her desk to Jessica, she spotted the pleading look, imploring her to, for once, loosen up and go out. She sighed, the artist's drawings popping back like a vicious reminder of her loneliness.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

"Yay!" Flinching, Lightning observed with amusement as Jessica performed her victory dance, moving from the left to the right with a bright, dazzling smile. "You won't regret it. When are you done?"

Glancing at her laptop, Lightning said; "Thirty minutes." Jessica's eyes rounded.

"Goddammit. You managers have it easy. I'm done at six, not fuck…forking four-thirty!"

Lightning chuckled and shrugged. "You chose to be an accountant, love."

"Yeah, yeah…" Glancing over her shoulder, Jessica looked back at her with a grin. "See you at the flat. Get ready to party!"

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Lightning waited for her the door to be clicked back shut. Looking back at her laptop, she moved the mouse on the desk and grinned at the sight of _RagnarokYun's_ oldest drawings. Scrolling down, she continued looking, analyzing, judging and every time _smiling_ , the touch of the artist bringing goosebumps on her arms every single time she understood what she had been meaning to represent.

After a while, Lightning sighed and closed all the tabs. Perhaps going out wasn't such a bad idea after all. Turning the computer off, she grabbed her purse from the ground and shoved a few files in it before sauntering in direction of the door. Glancing one last time at her lifeless office, she nodded to herself. She already knew what she'd do whilst waiting for Jessica to be done with her shift. Purchases were needed, and terribly so.

Flicking the lights off, Lightning smiled at her co-workers before disappearing behind the doors of the elevator with a smile that had now lasted for more almost a week. And one she hoped would last forever.

* * *

"I don't want to," she said with a frown, looking at her screen as frustration got the better of her. "Can't we do this another time?"

 _"No!"_ She flinched, surprised Abigail would suddenly raise her voice. _"You're coming, the end. 9PM, The Amazon. If you're not here I will personally pummel you to death. Got it Yun?"_

Suppressing a laugher, Fang nodded, her ear against the phone. "Okay, okay. I'll be there."

 _"Good! It's been…too long since I saw you. Don't disappoint me."_

She groaned at her phone. "Fuck off."

 _"Love you too! See you tonight!"_

Hanging up the phone, Fang stared back at her screen. She looked at the drawing carefully, intensively even, and erased a single thing from it. This hadn't been the way she had looked at her. She hadn't looked so creepy, or at least, so she had hoped. Clearing her throat, she zoomed in on the features of her own face with care, getting rid of the wrinkles she had unconsciously added she _knew_ she did not possess.

Why did she even start an artistic career? _Because you love to imagine things_ , a little voice in her mind quipped back _. Because you're good at it, and you like to create._ She smiled at her own thoughts. Of course, had she always loved drawing. Ever since she was a child, for that matter. She enjoyed how colors blend, she liked to be precise and careful, to put into pictures what her mind was telling her. She liked to pick up her pen and doodle on a piece of paper. There wasn't a single thing she did not like when it came to being an artist.

Sighing, she looked at the artwork again, Pinkie's message still impregnated in her mind. For two days she had tried to remember where they had met, but every time, her mind had been blank. There hasn't been a thing to help her remember the address or even the street. No matter how hard, no matter how many times she had tried to remember the route she had taken, nothing had happened. It had all been a complete, white blank. She had hesitated to comment back and beg for the address, but she had decided to leave it up to fate. If this woman with the pink-colored hair and the penetrating blue eyes would cross her path again, then she'd knew what to do.

She would know that without thinking, she would go towards her and simply ask her how she was doing, or simply…tell her to have a nice evening. She didn't care. All that mattered was to have those eyes boring into hers. All she wanted was to listen to her voice from up-close and swallow all her words, gazing deeply as she would try not to look at her lips and press a sweet, short kiss on hers. _Will you stop? You don't even know her! For all you know she's a bitch, only thinking about herself._ Fang frowned. _No. She didn't look like that at all. No. She looked…kind_.

Rubbing her face with her palms, Fang slowly breathed out. Sometimes she wondered why life got in between her actions. Why hadn't she talked to her? Why hadn't she been able to grab her balls out of her bag and simply stood up, telling her she was beautiful. What would've happened then? Would she have laughed and pushed her away? _No. She wouldn't have._ She maybe would've smiled and perhaps blushed, thanking her and telling her too, was pretty. She would've gazed at her with, her eyes shimmering with something…different. Something she had never quite known in her twenty-seven years of life. But she knew that somehow, that looked would've made it all.

It would've changed her _fucking_ life. It would've rocked her core even. _But you didn't move your ass from that chair, did you?_ Fang groaned and glanced at her watch. _Maybe her friend would've laughed._ She closed her eyes, pushing any thoughts of Pinkie away from her mind. A task easier said than done since her new comic-book was _based_ on her. _Her,_ Fang thought, her eyes sharply closing back.

What if she had asked her to take a seat? What if she had smiled, joked and flirted? What if she had been the person she had been meant to be with?

Regret penetrated her mind like a vicious reminder. She hated _what if's_ and had always hated them. But never had they been so strong. They had been questioning her, taunting her for days. Ever since she had replied. Who else was _BlueEyedGirl_ supposed to be, really? Opening her eyes, Fang stared at her screen with half-of-a-smile.

No, of course, it was. It was her. It was "L".

* * *

Dressed to the nines, Lightning escaped the Uber without a single smile. She felt surprisingly nervous, not used to dressing up on a Monday evening. After all, it was a _Monday_ , not a Thursday or even a Friday. What had gotten to Jessica's mind to drag her out tonight?

She glanced at the bar/nightclub's name, a grin spreading across her lips. "Of course you did," she said with an evil eye, "Amazon, really?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jessica said, her palms facing the night-sky. "No idea at all."

Nudging her in the ribs, Lightning graciously walked towards the door of the bar. Pushing the left one open, she held it so Jessica would enter, the warm atmosphere already taking her by surprise. She moved her leather jacket, glancing at the mass of people already dancing, flirting, chatting… Just being themselves. She pressed forward in direction of the bar, smiling at her own shoes.

"What do you want," Jessica whispered in her ear.

"Let's take a bottle of wine, love. We'll drink it outside if we have to!" Lightning smiled.

"Neat!"

She looked at Jessica leaning forward but focused her attention elsewhere. Looking at the people already sitting at the booths, the music drumming in her ears. Why did she feel like such a stranger? Once upon a time, she had been the Queen of the night. She had been the one ordering drink after drink, not giving a damn about tomorrow. What had changed in her life to take such a complete turn?

She sighed rather heavily, still looking at all those faces brightly smiling, their eyes shimmering with delight. Slightly moving her shoulders, and her entire body for that matter, the song playing in the bar brought a grin to her lips. _We will live in the motion_.

"Outside?"

Looking at Jessica holding two glasses in one hand and an opened bottle in the other, Lightning nodded. "Unless you want to drink here!"

"We'll come back when we're sufficiently drunk," Jessica said with a grin, already walking in direction of the door.

Following her, Lightning pushed and pulled, making her way through the mass of people already dancing in the middle of the bar and obscuring her way from the door. But with the necessary amount of strength and willingness, she managed to reach for the doors. Pushing one open, the colder atmosphere immediately made her feel better. She wasn't drunk enough for this.

Glancing at Jessica who had, who knew how, managed to get a table, she quickly sauntered in her direction with a dazzling smile. Bringing a cigarette to her lips, Lightning lighted it, inhaled the smoke between her lungs and gazed at her redhead friend.

"So, what's new with your fan?"

Nearly choking on the smoke, Lightning looked at Jessica deadpanned. "My fan?"

"Yeah. Brunette drawing you. Like I said, I saw." Jessica smirked, her eyes full of mirth. "Rather nicely, should I add."

"Will you shush! It's nothing. It doesn't mean anything." She had tried to mean her words. But did she really _believe_ them?

"Sure darling! Someone drawing you and making up a story about your _life_ doesn't mean _anything_ at all." She glared in her direction. "Oh don't. Be happy."

"Happy? For whatever reason?"

"Because for as long as I've known you, so seven years," Jessica pointed out after a sip, "you've been complaining about being alone. And now you have this woman _drawing_ you and literally placing you in a comic and you don't care? I'm no fool Farron. Or get your head out of your ass."

"Get my head out of my ass?" She looked at Jessica confused. "Why? And what?"

"Oh, come on." Pausing, Jessica bore her eyes into hers. "You're serious?"

"About what? You're not making any sense right now dude."

Lifting up a finger, Jessica said; "Don't call me dude. And just contact her! I mean you have her DA, just send her a message!"

Lightning frowned. She had hesitated. She had wanted to send her message and just tell her to meet up somewhere…but it had felt wrong. And for some reason, she hadn't expected her to text her. It was strange. She lifted her eyebrow, absentmindedly looking at Jessica. No, she refused to send her message.

"No," she said picking her glass from the table, "I won't." She took a sip but kept the glass in hand. "What's the point?"

"To meet…I don't know, someone? Light, you've been single for far too long."

Grunting, Lightning brought her glass to her lips and swallowed another mouthful of wine. "I haven't."

"It's been two years."

She fought hard for her eyes not to open widely with surprise. Has it really been that long? Looking back at Jessica, Lightning swallowed hard. "It hasn't."

"Oh, honey. I remember the mess you were." Jessica paused for a moment. "Don't you remember?"

"I do remember," Lightning said with a fake but mirthless smile. "What do you want me to say?"

"Just…Take care of yourself."

"Ugh." She dismissively waved her hand in the air. "No need." How she wanted it to happen nearly made her heart explode. "I'm…content. I'm happy now, I am. If I need someone, a relationship, then I'll know when the right time is."

"Really?"

Lightning shot up a glance at Jessica and softly smiled. "Yes, really." She paused and puffed on her cigarette, looking at the street. "I have faith."

"You sound like those people in Far Cry 5," Jess' replied with a grin. "I'm not sure it's the best!"

"Because she's mental," Lightning asked back.

"Yeah, kind off. Well…You just need to—."

"Fight the bliss," Lightning said amused, "I know." Twiddling her fingers against her knee, she let out a deep sigh and gazed up from the ground, eyeing all the people either coming out for a smoke or going in for a drink.

The bar _The Amazon_ had been their hunting ground when they were both still at the University, in New York. Every weekend, they decided to go out of their dorm at and simply go back to the city, where Jessica's older sister Chloe lived, therefore making it easier for either of them to crash after a long night out, drinking, flirting and kissing strangers without having a hint of what would happen the next day. They had enjoyed it until the day came it wasn't longer amusing. One-night stands were…okay but only within reason, and Jessica had, one too many times, crossed that thin line that made their night out appropriate.

Therefore, at twenty-three, they both stopped going to the bar on weekends, simply deciding to pop by every now and then to greet the bartender, have a beer, and go home. However, when the two women found out that the bar had expanded in Los Angeles, they had decided to give it a shot. But much to Lighting's dislike, hanging out with students had not been the definition of an enjoyable night, and soon enough, they stopped. But tonight, and for a reason, Lightning had yet to figure out, Jessica had managed to drag her out of her comfort zone in the five-room apartment only so she… She arched a brow. She didn't even know why she had decided to go out.

"Why are here, Jess?"

Jessica gazed at her with a smile. "Because it will do you some good." She looked over her shoulder and pointed at a group of girls; sexuality unknown. "Go pick one."

"Have you completely lost your mind," she asked deadpan, "this isn't a menu for me to choose from, you tart."

"Ugh, you're so frustrating!"

Jessica bounced from her chair and strode in direction of the group of women while Lightning only stared. Gulping her glass of wine, she felt her cheeks burning as her _friend_ pointed in her direction, trying hard to hide from the world. She listened to them giggle and rolled her eyes to the sky, focusing for a moment on the brightest star in the night sky.

She didn't want some random chick she would pick up in the bar, have sex with and never see again. She was well past that moment. She wanted it all; the first touch, the first time her fingers would graze… _hers_. A smile crinkled the corner of her lips. Would she see her again? Would they meet on Wednesday or had it all just been a fantasy? Her smile faded away, but just a tad.

"Hey, Light!"

Narrowing her eyes, Lightning stared at Jessica standing next to a rather good-looking woman. Did she have to have good taste and know exactly what she liked in a woman?

"Hiya," she said. "I'm sorry my best-friend dragged you into this," Lightning explained, ignoring the glare being shot in her direction, "but I'm not looking for anything."

"Didn't I tell you she'd say that," Jessica said after a few moments of silence, a grin invading her lips. "Light this is a friend of mine, Charlotte." Lightning stared at the two of them confused. "Do you really think I'm that stupid to just talk to some random girl and present her to you? We're not twenty anymore!"

Blowing out the breath she had held, Lightning handed out her hand and softly squeezed Charlotte's. "Nice to meet you," she said, "sorry about…before."

"No problem! I'm sorry I got…What is the word?" Her French accent was so rough Lightning wondered for an instant if she'd be able to comprehend a single word. "Dragged, yes that was it. She is bad influence."

"Tell me about it!"

"Hey, are you done speaking ill about me? I can hear you, you know?"

Chuckling, Lightning poured herself a second drink of wine, pouring the one from Charlotte Jessica had probably demanded in the process, as well as hers. Bringing it to her lips, she inhaled the scent of the Chardonnay with a small smile, her head shaking ever so slightly. _Thank God_ this woman only was one of her friends, no matter how French she was. Although she did _not_ look like a French girl. But who was she to judge, no one had ever told her she looked Canadian, after all.

In an instant, her every thought rushed back to the artist. She wondered for a moment if she too was foreign. She had noticed her tan, but nothing the Los Angeles couldn't do. Sighing, her brows puckered with a frown.

"What are you thinking about," Jessica asked.

"Hm, nothing. Don't worry."

"Are you still day-dreaming about your fan?"

"She's not my fan," Lightning drawled, "and maybe I was, who cares?"

"So, get this," Jessica said leaning towards Charlotte, "a few days ago, Light met a girl. They didn't speak at all but they just looked at each other." Lightning's cheeks began to heat. _Damn it._ "And before you know it, a drawing of her pops out when we were drinking our coffee."

"Oh, that is really romantic," Charlotte said with a smile.

"Wait it's not over. Saturday, the beginning of a comic came out. It stops when Lightning is holding her cup." Jessica gave her a knowing smile, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "Can't wait for the rest."

Lightning scrutinized Jessica. "I told you, it means nothing. It's just a girl with pink hair."

"Excuse me for saying but the only one I know with the same hair-color is your sister." She had a point. Sighing, Lightning slid down in her chair.

Glancing away, she began staring at the customers once more. Either by pair or group, echoes of laughter brushed up against her ears and as always, a smile curled up her lips. Not meaning to pry as a couple exchanged a passionate kiss, Lightning's lungs filled themselves with air at their sight. How she missed the sensation of a first kiss, the anticipation, the doubt, the fear. To be pulled closer, eyes boring into her soul.

Running a hand through her hair, Lightning let out a pained sigh. _Don't. Text. Her._ She grabbed her cellphone from her pocket and glared at the device looking back at her. Pressing on her home-button, she hesitated to press her thumb against it for an instant, squeezing it tightly as she gazed elsewhere. _This is ridiculous._ She sighed once more and shoved the phone back in her pocket.

Picking up her glass of wine without looking at it, she slowly brought it to her lips and swallowed yet another mouthful, but this time, kept the liquid under her tongue. Swallowing hard, she stared at the pavement covered with cigarettes butts and different stains, her brow furrowing as frustration overtook her once again.

"Hey Farron, don't you speak French?"

Startled and drawn from her thoughts, Lightning gave Jessica an odd look. "Uh yeah. I'm Canadian, so I learned French."

"Vraiment?"

Arching a brow, Lightning nodded. "Yes, _vraiment_."

"Where did you live in Canada," Charlotte asked.

"Montreal for a few years and then Vancouver. And ultimately, Los-Angeles." She paused and glanced back at Jessica. "But she and I met in New-York."

"Oh, you too were at Yale?"

"Yes, I was." Lightning slightly smiled at the woman. "In management. I don't even remember how we crossed paths," she said, casting a glance at Jessica.

"The Gala. You were with your girlfriend at the time and drunk-me gave you a high-five."

"Oh, right! And then you threw up on your own shoes."

"Must you remember this? Must you?"

Pulling her tongue out Lighting winked and finished her glass, figments of that night, seven years ago flashing through her mind. How her life had changed in those seven years. She smiled to herself and wandered in her own thoughts once more.

* * *

Fang ruffled her hair and glanced at her own reflection in the bathroom of the bar. Tonight, the establishment was crammed, surprising on a Monday evening, but it had been the reason why she had needed to leave the main room and go relieve herself, as well as take a breather away from the mass of people. The scenery wasn't the best, but at least she did not feel like being crushed.

Taking a sharp breath, she pushed herself from the sink and walked in direction of the door, breathing in one last time before pulling it open. Startled by the woman who was about to push the door open, they both looked at another, the other's brows quirking up with either surprise of fright. However, neither of them moved. For some reason, that woman looked extremely familiar but could not, no matter how hard she tried, to remember how she was. It's only when she talked that Fang's neural functions got activated again.

"She's waiting for her Uber outside," she said with a smile. "If you're lucky, you might catch her."

Flinching, it took Fang less than a second to bolt out of the room. Pushing the people standing in her way rather voraciously, Fang's breath got stuck in her lungs. How could she have not recognized Pinkie's friend? And why had she warned her about her immediate departure? Had Pinkie talked to her friend about the comic? Had she told her anything about herself, and how she had drawn them? Thousands of questions throbbed against her temples and swriled inside her mind.

Reaching out for the door after an enormous amount of sweat and energy, Fang stormed out of the bar and glanced to her left and right. That's when she saw the door closing from a car. She bounced in its direction but landed directly on someone, the man, tall and muscular giving her an odd look as she hurriedly rounded him. The car passed before her eyes, the only glimpse she caught from Pinkie being her hair and the shape of her nose, the woman looking through the window before the car disappeared at the following intersection.

Her shoulders slumped as she gazed at the void, her head shaking ever so slightly until a voice caught her attention. Turning around, she stared at the same woman she had met in the bathroom and gave her a questioning look.

"Sorry you didn't catch her."

"Yeah, it seems like faith isn't going my way, is it?"

The woman's lips curled slightly upwards. "I guess you'll have to wait until Wednesday," she said, her eyes shining with delight.

"Yes." She paused and nibbled on her lip. "I can't remember the address."

"What?"

"The address. I got there by mistake."

The knowing smile spreading on her lips gave her the necessary amount of hope for her brows to unfurrow. "12100 Santa Monica Boulevard," she said after a small pause. "She's going to be green when she finds out you…"

"Don't tell her," Fang interjected with mirth, "I'll put it in my comic."

"Can you do it before Wednesday?"

"Try me."

Fang stormed back inside the bar and pressed a bill against her table, Abigail and Veronica giving her side-long glances before she bolted back out of the establishment. Walking past the table where the woman had been seated, Fang smiled and waved before jogging in direction of her apartment.

Thank god she didn't live far. She had a lot of work on her plate, and it definitely was not cut out for her.


	4. Dreams can be real

Lightning had never been so excited as on Wednesday morning. Usually in a foul mood until she would drink her coffee, she woke up whistling and grinning, nearly dancing in the kitchen as she poured herself her coffee, Jessica still asleep in her bedroom on the other side of the apartment.

Sauntering out of the kitchen, she picked up her iPad and unlocked the device with the simple sliding of her finger against the screen, pressing on her Kindle Application with haste. Too excited and feeling like a child, she needed to cool down before Jessica would bolt out of the room. She hadn't quite appreciated her knowing smile during the entire previous day and had refused to give her another reason to give her the same playful look.

Pressing her lips together, she clicked on her on-going book and lost herself in the pages…but barely. No matter how hard she tried to picture the characters or the scenes, the same thing always popped back inside her mind, doubling her smile in size _every_ single time. She sighed and swallowed the warm coffee, surprised to find her hand slightly shaking. _You need to calm the hell down_ , she reprimanded herself with a frown _, you're going to look like a perfect idiot if you're acting like this later._

She sighed to herself and tossed the iPad further away on the couch. There was no need to try and pretend to read anymore. Glancing at the clock, she watched as the hand hour slowly approached the seventh hour of the day, the sound of a door clicking open bringing her attention towards the hallway.

Emerging, Jessica loudly yawned and rubbed her eyes, waving in her direction as she silently and sluggishly made her direction towards the kitchen. Studying her for a bit, Lightning was surprised as her iPad loudly chimed. Had she forgotten to take her number off…She arched her brows at the sight of the notification. Snatching it back, she unlocked her iPad and held a breath. She clicked on the app, waited for it to load and grinned as the title of the folder appeared in a flash. _One – Part 2 & 3._ Automatically, Lightning began to read.

Oblivious of her presence, Jessica gazed at her best-friend sitting crossed-legs on the couch. The moment she had heard the chime, she had known what it could only be about. And when Lightning had jumped on the device, there hadn't been a single doubt on her mind anymore. That woman had managed to draw everything that had occurred in the last days and was probably still awake after pulling not only one, but two all-nighters. Observing, Jessica smiled when Lightning chuckled, shaking her head ever so slightly and looking at the nape of her friend's neck.

In seven years, Jessica had seen every facet of Lightning. She had seen the angry, the sad, the happy, the jealous, the anxious…But never had she seen her so beloved in someone she did not know. She had been wary at first, fearing that the artist Lightning had suddenly fallen for only tried to manipulate her but when she had seen the look on her face as the Uber had left, all she had seen was disappointment and a grand amount of pain. Perhaps had it been why she had given her the address of the coffee-place, or maybe was it because she had been sick and tired of listening to Lightning claim faith would bring them together. And the look in the artist's eyes when she had given it to her had been enough to make her entire evening.

The following day, Jessica had done her possible to avoid Lightning as much as possible, afraid the look in her eye would betray the encounter she had with her fan. Therefore, she had only smiled and winked, but had not uttered a word about anything related to art and had managed after a long and tiring day to keep everything strictly private.

"Is this a joke?"

Her head jerked up from staring at the ground. Flinching, Jessica's lips parted just a tad. "What," she asked as innocently as possible.

"You saw her! You _saw_ her, and you didn't tell me you jerk!" Bouncing to her feet with the iPad in hand, Lightning shoved it before her eyes. "That _is_ you!"

"Yeah. I did. She was at the bar."

"No shit Sherlock," Lightning muttered under her breath. A smile shadowed Jessica's lips. "Not fair."

"You left too early. Faith got in the way."

"Shut up," Lightning said, her blue eyes darkening with anger.

"You'll see her today, don't worry you nerd."

Jessica smiled as Lightning's features relaxed, the shimmer in her eyes intensively coming back to life. Shortly after, a look of terror spread across her face.

"What if I act like an idiot?"

"You need to chill. You won't act like an idiot, Light."

"What if I do? What if she thinks I'm stupid or…" Her eyes widened. "Oh no." She placed her hand on her heart. Why had she thought about this just now, two hours before going to the coffee? "I can't go. I have to cancel."

"Cancel? Lightning sit down." Pointing at a chair, Jessica waited for her to take a seat. Rounding the island, she picked up the coffee that had finished running down and sat down on the opposite stool, her stare harder than steel. "You are most not certainly canceling today because, believe it or not, you've been driving me crazy! You like this girl, she likes you back. Sure, you don't know one another but who cares," Jessica asked with an impetuous tone, "this is _your_ chance to actually do that! I thought you were all about taking risks now? Where did that mood go?"

"But I—."

"Zip it, I'm not done," Jessica dryly interjected. "What you're going to do now is to go take a shower, pamper yourself but don't overdo it and then we'll go get that goddamn coffee so you can finally meet that woman!" Slamming both her fists on the island, Jessica watched with a deadly stare as Lightning sauntered out of the room, a grin immediately replacing her fake-anger Lightning had swallowed like a pill.

Running a hand through her hair, Jessica snatched the iPad Lightning had left on the island and sauntered towards the living-room, the sound of the shower indicating her that her annoyingly anxious friend had taken her advice into account. Sitting down, she pressed her mug to her lips and unlocked the device with her free hand, immediately landing on the drawing Lightning had shown her. She swiped back to the very first one and was stunned by how thoroughly the artist had managed to capture Lightning's look in the coffee-shop. It almost felt like she _was_ looking at her from the screen, piercing blue eyes shining and lips curling upwards. _Perfect._ She continued to swipe, more astonished every time she looked at a new drawing.

Merely fifteen minutes later, Lightning was out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair, holding the wetness of her hair. Staring at her wardrobe, she picked out a casual black-colored t-shirt with a white skull painted on it and a pair of deep-blue colored jean she knew would go nicely with her pair of pink sneakers. _Don't overdo it_. She nodded to herself and went back inside the bathroom. Dropping the first towel around her body to the ground, she immediately put on her dark matching underwear and covered up her body with the outfit of the day, turning around to gaze at her butt to make sure her jeans wouldn't show her panties. Nodding with satisfaction, she picked up the hair-dryer and started her usual brushing.

Slowly, every strand of her hair was straightened to perfection, the scent of vanilla and coconut filling up the air of the bathroom. Looking at her own reflection, her cheeks blushed from both the heat and the anticipation. Why did it feel like she was going on a date? _Is it? Is it a date?_ Her eyes widened, and she stared right back at them her hands stopping-mid brushing. _Oh god, oh god._ She stopped the hair-dryer and took in two slow breaths through her mouth, blowing them out her nose. _Everything is fine._ She resumed her brushing with a hint of fear sparkling from her eyes. But quickly, a state of confidence overtook her. This was do or die, and Lightning was more than willing to _do_.

Shortly after, at precisely eight thirty in the morning, both Jessica and Lightning were ready. Pulling on a blazer-vest, Lightning snatched her iPad from the sofa, her phone from the table and her wallet from the floor and dumped them all inside her black-bag hanging at her elbow. She gazed up and met Jessica's gaze already waiting by the door, her smile widely spreading.

"Let's go woman, we still have to be at work at ten in case you forgot."

Work. Indeed, she had completely forgotten about her carrier. Sighing, she picked up her cigarettes from the island of the kitchen and sauntered down the stairs with a thumping heart.

"My car or yours," Jessica asked as she opened up the front door.

"Yours, I'm in no state to drive," Lightning said as she brought her two shaking hands higher. "I might cause us to crash."

"Not today darling. Come on, let's hit it."

Lightning nodded and followed Jessica to the red BMW. Grabbing the handle of the passenger door, she pulled it open and sluggishly sat down on the leather seat, her fingers already fumbling with the radio. She needed to relax…and what better way was there than to listen to _Ariana Grande_?

* * *

Fang's foot had been tapping against the ground even since she had taken a seat at the coffee shop. Relieved as she had spotted the same waitress, she had immediately ordered her black coffee and had, with trembling hands, brought it to the table she had been sitting at exactly a week ago, laptop and graphics table in front of her and her stylus in her hand. But no matter how hard she had tried to draw; the shakiness of her hand had made the task _impossible_.

Thinking her state of exhaustion would've lowered her anxiety, Fang could not have been more wrong. If anything, she was so pumped she felt like taking on the world this very second, even though she had only slept four hours in the last thirty. She had needed to download her new material after all, and having told Pinkie's friend she would, nothing in the world would've stopped her.

She glanced at the clock on the laptop. 8:56. She breathed in and brought her coffee to her lips, trying to fight its shakiness again. The door opened, and she gazed up, disappointed as a couple entered hand in hand. _I hope this wasn't all but a joke to her._ She frowned to her own thoughts and shook her head. She had already spent the last two hours thinking of the possibility of a catfish. This wasn't the time to freak out over nothing. The door opened up again, and it took Fang every ounce of strength to look up.

A shiver ran down her spine as disappointment washed over her once more. Had she been wrong all along?

* * *

"Traffic is insane today," Jessica pointed out.

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed," Lightning dryly retorted, her fists clenching as the clock reached nine in the morning. "Fucking shit."

"We're there in two minutes Light, breathe. I'll drop you off in front of it even."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Somehow, I don't think my presence will be needed." They glanced at one another for a short second. "Will it?"

"I…suppose not." She breathed in, already spotting the coffee place a little further down the road and looked at the side-view mirror. Should she…?

"Go you fool," Jessica said. "I can see you're stressed. So, go. You'll pay me a drink one of these days."

Lightning jumped from her seat after unbuckling her belt. "Thank you, Jess. I love you!"

"Me too! Have fun."

Jessica winked, and Lightning shut the door, already rushing in direction of the pavement. With her fists clenching and un-clenching, a million of thoughts rushed through her mind. What if she wasn't there? What if she had waited too long, and left? What if she had never been interested? What if she had met someone else, and had decided to pick this person? _Pick this person for what?_ She growled to herself, walking faster and faster in Starbucks's direction.

Her palms became sweaty as she stood only a few feet away from the establishment, watching as a few people strode out of it. She frowned, making sure no dark-haired woman had also escaped the place and rushed towards the door with a new-found confidence. She opened the left one so hard it crashed up against the outside wall, her cheeks burning as she awkwardly smiled in one of the waitresses' direction.

But as soon as her gaze swept the room, Lightning forgot about the door she had probably just broken. All she saw was _her_ , sitting at the same place she had been the previous week, her laptop still placed before her eyes. They gazed at each other, and for a moment, time stood still. Were they suddenly the only ones here? Swallowing hard, Lightning took a step forward, and then another, her heart throbbing so fast she wondered how the furniture of the tables had not yet fallen down.

"Miss? What can I get you?"

She glanced to her right and softly smiled. "Give me a minute."

She continued walking. Her body wanted to run away, but she forced herself step after step, looking back inside her green eyes. _The same color. Magical._ She gawked for a second and intensively blushed. What was she supposed to do now? Say hi? Say nothing? Should she turn around and order her beverage?

"Hi."

 _One word_. It was all it took for Lightning's heart to thud even harder as it sank between her lungs. She parted her lips to reply but could not utter a word. Never has she been so mesmerized by someone before. "I…" she cleared her throat, hating the sound of her trembling voice. "Hi."

The woman smiled and Lightning held out her breath. Fighting to stay up, she slowly pulled the opposite chair and sat down before her knees could cave in, feeling like her bones had all turned to jelly.

"Traffic was insane," Lightning said. _Why are you talking about this? This isn't interesting in the least, get a goddamn grip!_ She sighed at her own idiocy but couldn't help but notice the smile painted on the artist's lips. How beautiful she was. _Surreal._

"I heard the bankers saying that they were on strike," she said pointing a finger a three man, "I'm not surprised they're taken over the city."

Surprise washed over her. She hadn't expected the smooth, enticing accent escaping her lips. Well, she did not know what to expect when it came to her. Lightning smiled as she brushed her palm against her jean. "I'm Lightning by the way," she said handing out her dried hand.

A smile drew itself in her eyes. "I'm Fang." Their hands met. Goosebumps ran up and down Lightning's arms thankfully covered by her jacket, but the heat spreading across her heart and face was too much to handle. She smiled at _Fang_ again and saw the same look in her eyes than in her drawing. Finally, their fingers stopped touching and Lightning placed her palms on the table. "Do you uh…want something to drink?"

"Oh, right," Lightning said bouncing off the chair. "I'll be right back." She peeked over to glance at her mug. "Do you want another?"

"No, but thanks." Lightning smiled, nodded and sauntered away.

Finally breathing out the air she had kept in her lungs ever since Pinkie or Lightning has it seemed, had crashed-opened the door, Fang felt her body slowly relax but still, the excitement rushing through her veins was so powerful she wondered if sleeping would ever be an option.

Such relief she had felt when she had appeared. Of course, she had also been extremely startled not expecting someone to yank the door so brutally, but when her gaze had settled on her, Fang had been unable to hide her smile. It had felt like a surreal moment or something that is only meant to happen in the movies, and not to her. But it _had_ happened.

Still looking at her, Fang focused her attention on her laptop, saved her file and closed it back, watching as Lightning sauntered back her way with her coffee in a cup to-go in her hands. She arched a brow and gave her a slightly questioning look.

"I always ask for to-go cups," she said as she sat down, "they taste better."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Well, it's…it's what I think." Fang forced herself not to beam as Lightning's cheek turned pink, her muttering seemingly annoying her own-self. Fang on the other hand, found it adorable. "You're an amazing artist." Smiling, she brought her cup to her lips and swallowed a mouthful of Caffe Latte.

It was her time to blush. "Thank you. It means a lot, really." She twiddled her knee with her fingers. "You're a…Hm." She paused and shook her head. "You're pleasant to draw."

"Oh." Now used to the feeling of her cheeks burning, the blush that crept up her neck was so strong she wondered if her complexion would ever go back to its usual white. She darted at her cup for an instant, the smile on her lips spreading second after second. _Is this a dream?_ "You're the one with the touch, though. I haven't done anything."

"You smiled." _Oh, fork_. Sucking in the air, Lightning glanced up from her cup and bore her eyes into Fang's. Unblinking, she stared at her eyes. She had always loved jewelry, and the rings on her fingers or the bracelets on her wrist were indication enough, but this color was one she had never seen before. She wanted to capture it and turn into a diamond.

Fang had never been the shy type of girl. But she had also never found herself in front of someone like Lightning and was afraid to sound like an idiot during the first time they spoke. With luck, she would have a lot of time to show her how stupid she sometimes could be. _Don't get ahead of yourself. She might not care about you after all._

"So, you came in here by mistake?"

The question surprised her for an instant. Remembering the publication of the new slides during the morning, Fang felt both relieved and excited to know Lightning had still been reading the comic. "Yes, I did. I wanted to go towards Oakwood, but I took the wrong turn. I'm blaming my music for this." Lightning chuckled, and Fang's cheeks warmed. "But um, yes. But a mistake I'm glad I made."

"I'm glad to." The sincere tone in her voice made any doubts from Fang's shoulders vanish. "Jessica didn't tell me you were at the bar that little minx," she continued with half-of-a-smile, "she kept your secret."

"I never doubted she wouldn't," Fang said with a toothy grin.

"Are you going to continue the comic?"

Her brow quirked up a bit. "Yes. Unless it's making you uncomfortable or…"

"Oh, no, no" Lightning said with a violent shake of the head, "It's not what I meant." Breathing in, Lightning calmed the beatings of her heart, her hands gripping at her cup once more. "I'm glad if you pursue it. I like it a lot. And the drawings are… Impeccable." She glanced up and smiled.

"It'll give us a reason to see each other again as well," Fang said. Noticing the shadow of pain lurking behind Lightning's blue-colored eyes, Fang fought the urge to kick herself in the shin. "I mean that… What I meant was that…Oh gosh." Running a hand through her hair, Fang slowly breathed out. "Of course, I hope I'll see you again. After this. Like a—a date."

For the past seven days, Lightning had thought about seeing her again. She had played every possible scenario in her mind. Some had quickly ended, others had been painful. But to hear the words coming from her mouth, her accent brushing her ears and the shy look on Fang's face had not been something she had imagined. She hadn't even imagined the woman to mumble and trip over her own words. The smile it brought to her lips was blinding.

"I'd love to." Lightning glanced at her watch. Was it nine forty already? "Damn it."

"Hm?"

"I have to get going soon. If I'm late my boss won't be happy." She bowed her head and shook it ever so slightly. "So, I'll see you again?"

"Yes. Do you want my number or…?"

"How about," Lightning said standing up from her seat, mug back in her hand, "you draw it?" Confusion crossed Fang's features and Lightning chuckled. "Give me clues in a next drawing," Lightning said again, her cheeks hurting once more.

"Deal," Fang said, amused and pleased by the idea.

"Good."

Lightning gazed at Fang and took a slight step back as she stood up from her seat. Only now did she notice her height, and her long legs. She looked at them for a second and glanced back up to settle her gaze in her eyes. She took a step forward and gently placed a kiss on Fang's cheek before turning around on her heels with a smile she knew would last for a long time. She glanced over her shoulder one last time, smiled and waved, and marched out of the establishment with a new-found happiness. Even though _happiness_ was barely a fraction of how she truly felt. Because as she walked down the street, Lightning felt alive. And God, how good it felt.

Still standing in the middle of the coffee-place, Fang's smile had not once disappeared. She glanced at the few customers looking at her with arched brows for some and smiles for others, quickly sitting back down on her seat. Opening up her laptop, she thought about Lightning's amusing idea. _Draw it_. _Give me clues in a drawing_. Grabbing her stylus, Fang gazed at her screen with undivided attention. This was way harder than she would've believed. What did the perky, pink-headed woman like? Should she lay on the romantic or refrain herself? _This already started like a romantic-comedy_ , Fang thought to herself. Running a hand through her hair, she glanced up in direction of the door, a smile crossing her lips at the sight of a rather large dent in the glass. _Well._

Nibbling on her lower lip, an idea immediately crossed her mind. It was something she had always wanted to do, and she did not care about the cheesiness of it. The only problem she would encounter was to give Lightning the necessary amount of information, so she would come to _that_ place, and not another. Like a light being turned on, Fang's eyebrows snapped up her forehead. _Yes. That's it._ With a smile and a mouthful of coffee, Fang started to draw. And never had she been so thrilled to create.

* * *

She hadn't stopped smiling. Even when her boss had angrily referred to her because of her lateness, Lightning had not given a care in the world and would have done it all over again if because if the reason why she had been late. From morning to afternoon, she had smiled, joked with her co-workers, worked more than she had in the past weeks and had, during a needed lunch-break, related every single detail with Jessica who had in return, stared at her both dumbfounded and insanely happy.

Having explained her idea of _clues_ , Lightning had hopped Fang would not kill herself at task only because of a silly idea that had crossed her mind. She was working enough, and hard worked enough in the past week. But the idea had, at first, seemed enticing. But now, sitting on her sofa with a glass of wine in her hand, Lightning doubted of the intelligence of her proposal.

She ran a hand in her hair and placed her fingers against her lips. The sensation she had felt after placing a soft kiss on her cheek had been overwhelming as well as overpowering. She had hesitated but had decided to mark her decision as one she did not regret in the least. And based on Fang's both pleased and stunned expression, she had known that she too, had found it most pleasant.

"Hey there Romeo," Jessica called out as she stepped inside the living-room, "how's your lover-bird?"

"Shush," Lightning said. Throwing a pillow in her direction, Jessica elegantly avoided it. "And I don't know, I told you I don't have any means to contact her. I just have to wait."

"And everyone knows you're _so_ patient."

Frowning, Lightning flipped her middle-finger in her direction. "I can be. When there's something at stake."

"Like a date with a beautiful woman who swooped you off your feet?"

"Precisely." She grinned and leaned towards the table. Grabbing the bottle of wine, she poured the second drink she had brought along with her, knowing Jessica would not turn down the possibility to drink. "Here."

"Ugh, thanks. I'm _exhausted_." Nodding, Lightning leaned back against the couch. "Not everyone had the beginning of a love story today."

Lightning waved her hand in the air. "Will you stop?"

"Why? It's the truth, my dear Light." Jessica paused to take a sip. "The way she looked when you left the bar. She seemed truly sad." Lightning arched her brow, fighting hard not to smile. "Oh, come on, don't give me that look."

The sip of wine she swallowed was enough to hide her blush, but Jessica saw right through her eyes. Smiling, she pressed her own glass against her lips and slowly swallowed the cold white wine.

"How did you say goodbye, by the way?"

"I kissed her—."

" _You kissed her_ ," Jessica shouted with utter surprise. She elbowed on her knees, wanting to hear more about the interesting tale.

"On the _cheek_ , moron."

"Lame." Lightning arched her brow.

"I never would've kissed her, it's way too soon."

"Perhaps but…"

The chime of both of their iPads echoed from the bedroom. Sharply gazing at one another, Lightning and Jessica both bounced out of their seats and rushed towards Lightning's bedroom. Snatching the device, it was long until both of them crashed against the mattress, Jessica having charged in from behind to get a glance at the picture before Lightning could.

"Fuck off it's my date," Lightning said, the device still tightly clutched in her hand.

"Don't care, I want to see," Jessica quipped back, struggling to reach for the iPad. Frowning, she jumped from the bed and snatched Lightning by the foot, pulling her towards the ground.

"Jess! Don't you—." The fall wasn't high but the moment her buttocks touched the ground, a small shriek escaped Lightning's lips. "You—." Gawking as the iPad was snatched from her hand, Lightning immediately pushed herself from the ground and bolted out of the room, Jessica already unlocking the device with a proud grin. "You suck."

"Aw, don't look so sad." Lightning shrugged and threw herself on the sofa arms crossed. "Ugh fine! Here. See where your date is going to happen."

Outstretching her fingers, she immediately brought the device before her face and pressed on RagnarokYun's new creation. Waiting for it to lard, she drummed her fingernails against the leather couch, staring right back at the screen. _Come on, come on!_ She glanced at Jessica, ignored her sneer and stared back at the iPad. The picture loaded, and Lightning held her breath.

Frowning, she zoomed in on a picture that curiously seemed like the beach, the blue night-sky covered with shining dots she knew could only represent the stars. On the bottom of the page was written _It was Saturday at eight in the night. She met me where the Ocean Front Walk meets with Perry's Caffe. I was nervous, but I knew that the moment she'd appear, all my worries would fade away._ Lightning smiled and screenshotted the only clue Fang had given. Now, it was time to find the correct place and get ready for her first date ever with the woman who, only a week before had been _nothing_ but a stranger.


End file.
